Stone masonry and brick masonry facings have been traditionally constructed by skilled workers from individual units, such as bricks, stones, or rocks, set and mortared one after the other into the shape of a wall. This is a very long process which is time consuming.
Different solutions have been proposed in the prior art for reducing the time required for forming or designing a masonry wall, such as a brick work, or for making its construction available to an unskilled person.
Among these prior art solutions, there are the prefabricated artificial facings which consist of panels or form liners with an assemblage of decorative prefabricated moulded bricks or stones giving the appearance of natural brick, stone or other masonry material. These pre-fabricated panels or liners often do not provide an architecturally satisfactory appearance of real brick or stone. Also, they are often very heavy and are thus difficult and cumbersome to transport to the job site and to install on the building structure. Another drawback with many of these pre-fabricated panels is that once installed side by side on a surface, the separation line between the panels is clearly visible which makes those prefabricated panels less attractive for someone researching the appearance of a real natural stonework. Examples of such prior art prefabricated facings are giving in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,339,489; 3,496,694; 3,350,827; 3,712,825; 3,908,326; 4,510,729; 4,656,722; 5,386,963; 5,632,922; 6,041,567; and 6,164,037.
Also known in the prior art, there are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,855,075 and 5,894,676, which disclose a brick template for laying a plurality of bricks. This template, which serves as a guide for mounting the rows of bricks, includes a planar and rigid sheet having a plurality of support pins projecting therefrom in a predetermined pattern for supporting a plurality of bricks.
Further known in the prior art, there is U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,387 which discloses a liner made of an elastomeric material with recesses formed therein for receiving bricks. Retaining devices attached to the liner are provided for retaining the pieces of brick into the recesses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,251 discloses a masonry construction aid which allows its user to insert masonry into a pre-determined, pre-formed, soluble pattern that contains within a bonding material. After applying a catalyst to the pattern, the pattern disintegrates, the bonding agent activates and bonds the masonry together and hardens into a permanent structure. The pattern disclosed therein is devised to form a non complex masonry work with respect to the arrangement of the bricks on the wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,049 discloses a thin brick panel assembly for forming a brick facing on a building structure. The brick panel assembly includes a backing member with a generally uniform cross-section throughout its entire length, providing channels, which allow the thin brick tiles to lay uniformly across each row. The channels are defined by retaining bars which hold the thin brick tiles in place. The retaining bars include mortar lock notches, which are adapted to provide a dovetail connection between the mortar and the backing board, and a path for moisture and water to escape from the brick panel assembly.
Also known in the prior art, there is the panel system disclosed in the CA 2,485,870 in the name of the Applicant which discloses an artificial masonry unit suitable for use with a panel made of a compressible material having masonry unit receiving depressions in a front face thereof and protruding ribs defining and bordering the depressions. The depressions are sized to receive respective artificial masonry units in a close-fitting relationship. The artificial masonry unit comprises a body bounded by a front face, a back face, and a lateral face providing a thickness to the unit, and a back peripheral edge joining the back face and the lateral face. A tooth projection is projecting from the lateral face next to and parallel to the back peripheral edge for thrusting into the protruding rib when the masonry unit is inserted in a respective depression. The tooth projection is thrusting into the rib of a respective depression and helps retain the masonry unit within the depression prior to mortaring the wall. As can be appreciated, this system requires the use of customized masonry units provided with one or more tooth projections. A conventional standard brick available on the market would not be suitable with this system.
Further known in the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,261 discloses an apparatus for retaining bricks to a wall structure, without the use of mortar or other binding agents. The disclosed apparatus is also able to be used as a brick laying guide for the construction of a conventional brick and mortar wall. The apparatus includes a base plate which is fixed to a base structure. Two retainer arms extend perpendicularly outward from the base plate and are attached thereto, thus forming a retaining space in between the inner faces of the two opposing arms. Each of the arms have at least one prong that extend into the retaining space. A brick equipped with vertical holes that extend the length if its body allows for the prongs to extend into the holes of the brick when inserted into the retaining space. In other words, once a brick is inserted into a retaining space at a sufficient enough depth, the prongs that extend into the holes hold the brick securely in place at the desired distance from the wall structure.
As well, U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,305 discloses a stone cladding system having a plurality of facing blocks which are arranged into superposed courses. A first block placed into a first course has a first step which defines a lower tread, with a riser, and a top thread which extends along the top surface of the inserted block. A second block inserted into a second course, disposed above the before mentioned first course, is provided with a second step being complementary to the first one which extends along the length of the bottom surface of the block and engages with the first step of the block inserted into the first course. The system is also provided with a plurality of vertically spaced horizontally-extending rails which are attached to the wall to be faced. The rails support the facing blocks by overriding the top tread and riser of blocks placed in the first course and by underlying the bottom surface of blocks placed in the second course.
Also known in the art is the Structural Support Panel System for Brick, Tile or Stone, or the “TABS™ II Wall product” manufactured by Tabs Wall System LLC. The disclosed system includes a support panel with an integrated tab & locking system. Integrated support tabs are sized for veneer thickness and adjustable ties are provided for veneer dimensions.
The following prior art documents provide other examples of wall construction using panels and/or masonry units: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,496,694; 3,712,825; 3,908,326; 4,589,241; 5,228,937; 5,501,049; 5,894,676; 3,813,838; 3,340,660; 3,701,228 and 6,164,037. Also, US application 20060101784 should be mentioned as well.
As described in some of these prior art documents, another possible way of retaining masonry units between the ribs of a channel is to apply an adhesive, such as mortar, on the back face of the units prior to inserting them into the channels. While this solution can be used with conventional clay bricks, it has the disadvantage of introducing extra steps during the installation of the units, and of requiring extra curing time in order to allow the adhesive to dry.
In light of the information above, it would be desirable to have a panel suitable for making a brick masonry wall having channels adapted to receive and retain bricks which are often provided with one or more holes without requiring modifications or alterations in the shape of the brick and without resorting to the use of adhesive or mortar. Finally, it would desirable for the panel to allow for the retention of bricks manufactured with large size variations for a predetermined size of brick.